THE^LA VERY QUE STION. 
""" If 

SPEECH i 

OF 

HON. WM. J. ALSTON, OF ALABAMA, 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, APRIL 18, 1850, , iJ.jL^- 

In Cammttee of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the President's Message trans^ 
mitting the Constitution of California. 



Mr. ALSTON epoke as tbilows: 

Mr. Chairman-: An imperious sense of duty 
constrains me to occupy the time of this House — 
a duty I owe to the constituents whom I have the 
honor to represent, and to the Union. Born and 
reared at the South, my destiny is indissolubly 
connected with hers; if she shull prosper, and 
look forward with buoyancy and hope to the fu- 
ture, I shall rejoice with her; but if, in the provi- 
dence of noA, the. Clark cloud oi lanaticism wnicn 
now threatens, shall overshadow her, and the fury 
of that tempest sh.all sweep her fair fields with the 
besom of destruction, I, loo, sir, must share her 
calamity. 

Great and universal disconitnt pervades the 
southern States, and the uprising of the masses, 
like the ground swell of the ocean, indicates the 
approaching storm. What, sir, has occasioned 
this discontent but your continued agitation of the 
slave question for the last fifteen years? We are 
told by the gentleman from New York [Mr. 
Sackett] that the South acknowledges the sin 
and evil of this ins'itution, and yet seeks to ex- 
tend that evil over others; and to sustain this as- 
sertion, he refers to the Senator from Kentucky, j 
[Mr. Ci.AY,] to the gentleman from Virginia, [Mr. j 
McDowell,] and others. The South, Mr. Chair- ' 
man, entertains no such opinions; and it would be 
just as fair, because certain persons in New York ; 
deny the marriage lite and the validity of persona! 
property, to charge that New York v/as opposed to I 
marriage and private property. We are told by St. ■ 
Paul, that if there had been no law there wou'd < 
have been no sin: then sin mu."?! be the violation i 
of Divine law; and I shall proceed to show that ! 
"kvery is not a violation of that law, and there- i 
fore i.Q gin. ! 

Physioli)o;istg j,n(i ^\^^, learned agree, that the 
different complexions among the higher orders of 
creation are too deeply seated in nature to be the 
effect of climate, food, or disease; and some phi- 
losophers have advanced the speculative opinion, 
that the nt-gro does not belong to the race of man 
spoken of jn the Bible, and refer to his complex- 
ion, and his skull-bones, which are ttiicKer ihan 
those of the white man or Indian, and invariably 
90; his facial, and other bones; his form, and the 
peculiar structure of his skin, with other differ- 
en\:es which might !>e mentioned. It is objected 
to tl\is theory, that the Bible iiifornis us thnt "of 
one blood are all the nations of the earth." Ir is, 
however, replied to thi^, ihut if the negro belongs 
to an inferior grade, this passage does not nnpfy 
to hiim, and by no meana proves his equality with 



man, who was created only a little lower Ll\an tht 
angels; and the 20th verse of the 23d chapter of 
Ezekiel is supposed to confirm this idea, where it 
is said, that the flesh of the Egyptian is as the 
flesh of the beasts of the field.* And it is further 
said, that as we advance fiom mere inactive mat- 
ter to vegetable and anima! life, we lind fixed and 
invariable laws, and a regular gradation or series 
of steps, rising one above another in regular or- 
aer, rrom the smallest living creature to man, the 
highest; and it is supposed by those reasoners, 
that the negro may be a connecting iink between 
the Indian and the ourang-outang; and it is urged 
that there is a greater difference between the white 
man and ne,?;ro than between the latter and the 
ourang-outang. 1 shall not, however, pursue thia; 
speculative idea further. 

But, sir, suppose we are all of one family, (and 
I believe this to be the almcst universal opinion,) 
these mysterious differences still remain to be ac- 
counted for, and can alone be explained upon the 
supposition of a miracle contravening the estab- 
lished and invariable laws of nature. We are told 
in the Bible that all the antediluvians were de- 
stroyed by the flood, except Noah and hisfamilyj 
that Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and 
Japheth; and according to the idiom of the Hebrevir 
language, objects and things were narned in refer- 
ence to appearance, or some quality, and frequently 
both. Taking this as our guide, we find Shem v/as 
copper colored. Ham black, and Japheth white or 
fair— such being the meanings of the.se words ac- 
cording to our commentators. 

We find that one of Hara's sony settled in- 
Canaan, from whom the country took it;3 name; 
another, M^zar, Mizraim or Mcne.--, settled in 
Egypt; and if there be any doubt nbout the latter, 
it wiii be removed on refereno? to the 231 verse of 
the 105th Psalm, where it is said Egypt is the land 
of Ham. Herodotus, the historian, who lived 
.some five hundred years b. fore ChriM, tells us 
that the inhabi-ants of Egypt, with all the con- 
tigious nations in the interior of Africa, were blacky 
with curled or woolly hair, and, in thi.^ he is con- 
firmed by Ahfilforng,,.-:, an Arabian historian, 
cinoted by Adam Clark, liy Richard Wafiioi), in. 
his Historical Dictionary, an.J others. 

Thus, sir, we set out with ihe supposition that 
Hain was black, from his name; we trace his de- 
scendants to Egypt, and find they were black, re- 
seml;iing our negroes, who are known to have 
been imported from Africa. In the 9th chapter of 

* is: C j-itubina?, 39th vtfcc. 



73884 



2 



.A44 



Genesis, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses, Noah said, 
"Cursed be Canaan, (our commentators, Clarke, 
Newton, Ac, say it should be Ham, therein agree- 
ing with the Arabic copy of the Bible,) a servant 
of servants shall he be unto his brethren.'" "And 
he said, blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and 
Canaan [Ham] shall be his servant. '' " God shall 
enlarge Japhetn, and he shall dwell in the tents of 
Shem; and Canaan [Ham] shall be his servant. 
The use of the word " cursed" makes it more 
than a mere prophecy of crimes which should 
afterwards be committed in the world. It was a 
judicial and irrevocable decree of Heaven that this 
race should be enslaved by the other two, and, 
surely, it cannot be said to be a sin to do that 
which God himself has ordained and ordered to 
be done. We find slavery recognized in the com- 
mandment to keep the Sabbath holy: the owner 
was required to make his slave keep it also, and 
in the tenth commandment it is said, " Thou shalt | 
not covet thy neighbor's man-servant, nor his ' 
maid-servant, nor his ox,"&c.; and these com- \ 
mandmcnts were given to Moses long after the 
curse pronounced on Ham and his descendants. | 
Can it be suppcsed for a moment that our Creator ! 
would continue this state of vassalage and regu- ' 
late it by divine lnw, if, as AboI:tio»U:».- »«j , it : 
were a crime of the deepest dye ? Could he not j 
as readily perceive the enormity of this thing as 
they r and could he not have denounced it in as i 
strong terms as they .' Why did he not do so? I 
leave it to their peculiarly-tender consciences to | 
answer. 

Moses, by divine direction, enacted what the 
Israelites should do after getting possession of the 
land of Canaan. It is said in the 25th chapter of Le- 
viticus, 44th and 45th verses, that "both thy bond- ^ 
men and thy bondmaids which thou shalt have . 
shall be of the heathen that are round about you; 
of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids." 
" Moreover, of the children of the strangers that , 
do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy and ' 
of their famihes that are with you which they be- [ 
gat in your land; and they shall be your posses- . 
sion." "And ye .''hall take them as an inheritance 
for your children after you, to inherit them for a j 
possession; they shall be your bondmen forever." 
Can any language characterize southern slavery in 
plainer or stronger terms than is here laid down 
by tlie inspired penman r It is here said "ye 
shall buy servants" and they shall be your pos- 
session" — ihenece.ssary words to convey distinctly 
the idea of property; ami it does not stop there — it 
proceeds to show how long this property in slaves 
shall last, and does not confine it to six years nor 
to the yearofjubilte, as in the case|of the Israelitish 
race of servants, nor even to the lives of the partie.'<, 
but declares it shall descend to their children, and 
not only to the first generation but forever. These 
people who were thus ordered to be enslaved were 
the descendants of Ham. Here, then, is a divine 
enactment enforcing the curse pronfiunced by Noah 
on Ham and his descendants; and many religious 
people at the South believe the present condition 
of the descendants of Ham is a palpable and irref- 
ragable proof of the tiuth of the Bible. 

1 now proceed to sliow that, according to the 
Bible, slavery miicht originate in the following 
manner, to wit: l.-'t, A man might dispose of his 
own liberty, (Exodus xxi.,5,6;) 2d, Slaves might 
be acquired by war and conquest, (Deut. xx., 14;) 



3d, Children might be sold by their own parents, 
(Exodus xxi., 7;; 4ih, Thieves unable to make 
restitution, or pay the penalty, might be sold, 
(Exodus xxii., SO 5th, Might be acquired by 
purchase generally, (Leviticus xxv., 44,45;) 6th, 
A person might lie born a slave, (Exodus xxi., 4:) 
7th, Might be acquired by gift, as from Abirnelech 
to Abraham, (Genesis xx., 14;) 8th, Might be ac- 
quired by marriage, (Genesis xvi., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 
8, 9; xxiv., 59, 61.) And again, sir, to show that 
the idea of property entered fully into all these 
regulations, I refer to the 21st chapter of Exodus, 
20th and 21st verses, where it is said: If after 
the cruel beating of the servant by the owner, he 
shall die at"ter a day or two, the owner shall not be 
punished, because "he is his money. ""► This 
covers the whole ground of southern slavery, 
with this difference, that our law holds the slave- 
owner as responsible for killing a slave us a white 
man. Indeed, our la.v is so tender of the life of the 
slave, because he belongs to a different caste, that 
it permit.^ none but slaveowners to sit on his trial 
in capital cases, who might fee! a sympathy with 
him, and better understand the character and mo- 
tives of his conduct. Again, sir, slavery is recog- 
nized by God himself in his covenant with Abra- 
liuiii, ill Lilt iTLii >.,iia.|ji.cr or Cfci.esit, 13ih v^r&ts. 
Thus, sir, the Deity, who created the universe and 
established moral and religious laws for the gov- 
ernment of mankind, and might reasonably be 
supposed to understand what morality and re- 
ligion required, authorized the enslaving of the 
descendants of Ham, (believed to be our negroes.) 
"Not so," say Abolitionists; "it is a grievous 
sin;" and in this assertion they arrogate to them- 
selves more wisdom and greater purity than the 
God who made them; and if he were now on 
earth, and declared this doctrine, like the Phari- 
sees of old, they would heap upon hiin black op- 
probrium, and go about to kill him. Sir, Abra- 
ham, the patriarch, had slaves bought with hia 
money — born in his house — by marriage with 
Sarai — by gift from Abimelech, and probably by 
inheritance; and when he marched to the rescue 
of Lot, no les:i than three hundred and eighteen 
went with him into battle. 

Isaac had slaves by inheritance, and by mar- 
riage with Rebecca. Solomon had slavee, with 
many others. Abimelech, Bathuel, Laban, and 
Job, had slaves, and all these did not belong to 
Israel. 

Thus, sir, it will be seen, both from the Bible 
] and ancient history, that slavery existed at a verr 
early period after the flood, and seems to h?'"^ ^X" 
i tended over the whole %voild. But, sir, it rray be 
: said that the Gospel was a milder dispensation, 
and abolished the law. When Chri.'it «as about 
I to be baptized, he said he came not to destroy the 
law, but to fulfill it. t At the time be made his ap- 
, pearance in the world, slavery existed every- 
where in its worst form, extending even to lite 
: Did he dcijuuitce II ao a grcai moral, social, ami 
; political curse .' No, sir, he did not; but, then, he 

i * In the 16th chapter of Genesis we find Abraham said -o 
I Sarai, '-Behold, thv handmaid is in thy own hacvd ; use he- as 
j it pleaseth thee." Giotius sav.s it was n .onre^sKHi of power 
evKntopiithertodeatli; andSt. John Chrysostom (Hon. J'; 
' describes it as an unlimited power of puiiishmee!t toi^ petu- 
I lence and insubordinntion, which Cahnet, m liU remarKj 
1 on tliis place, s.iys<, every waster had over hw siave, ana 
i everv husband had over tlie slave of his wife. 
'■ t i^t. Matthew, v., 17. 



3 



may not have understood it so well as Abolition- | 
ists now lio. I know, air, it is said that we live in i 
an a£;e of progress; and who shall say that, like 
the giants of old, these people shall not make war J 
against Heaven? or it may be that he, not being | 
quite 90 holy, (in their estimation,) has Aiiled in ' 
doins: his duty to mankind by not thundering 
anathemas against this, as they say, enormous 
sin. And, sir, who shall say these wiseacres may 
not, like those who built the tower of Babel, be 
trying to find a shorter road to Heaven? But, 
sir, our Savior, not agreeing exactly with Abo- 
litionists, has laid down in the Gospel rules for the 
government of slavery. Is to regulate by law how 
a thing may be done, to abolish it? Does God in-i 
the Old Testament, or our Savior in the New, , 
ever lay down rules for the commission of sin? 
Christ enjoins obedience on the part of slaves to 
their masters, and to the bad as well as to the 
good, as a thing well-pleasing in the sight of God.* 
Abolitionists say no, tliat is altogether wrong; 
they ought not to be in servitude to any man, and 
therefore ought not to obey. Submission to the 
le.ws and peace with all mankind, are enjoined in 
the Gospel; yet Abolitionists, professing to be 
imbued with its principles, and acting under its 
gcildance, pfoclaiffi to the"^ofTa iTiat they are in 
favor of revolutionizing this Government to get 
clear of slavery. Wendell Phillips said, at a pub- 
lic meeting in Boston, in 1848, after predicting an , 
insurrection of slaves in the South, " God forbid \ 
I should .in any way guaranty protection to the : 
wife and children of the white man." No, sir; ■ 
he eaid "he wanted the North to stand still and 
let the fight go on;" and he was cheered by that 
meeting. Is it for the sons of men who were en- ! 
gaged in the African slave trade, and who sold 
these negroes, or a great part of them, to our 
fathers, and put the price in their pockets, to re- | 
proach us with injustice to the slave, wiiile they 
still retain the profits of that traffic ? Has it not ' 
entered into the aggregate mass of their wealth? 
Let them remember, sir, that those who go into 
courts of equity on earth, or the high court of 
chancery in Heaven, are required to have clean 
hands; let them look well to their own sins in re- 
gard to slavery, by keeping back this money, with 
the interest, before they reprove the sins of their 
brethren. If, as they contend, it is a great sin to 
steal men from Africa, I would call tlieir attention 
to the 22d chapter of Exodus, 3d verse, where we 
are told that the thief was required to make resti- 
tution, and if he had nothing, that he was sold for 
his theft. Now, sir, let them make restitution, or 
be sold into slavery for this stealing of negroes 
from Africa; and if this were done, perhaps the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [IWr. Stevens] 
might find himself subjected to the same cere- 
mony which he says is performed in Virginia. 

But, after all, what is your boasted emancipa- 
tion of the negro at the North ? Do you allow 
him political freedom, without which, in this coun- 
try, liberty is rather an insult than a blessing? 

Mr. Justice Blackstone bases all human law 
on the law of nature and the law of God, and 
founds our right to all property on the 28th verse of 

* 1 Pc'er, vcfBes 18, 19, 20, .ind 21. The Rpislle of Paul 
to Philemon, verses 10, 11, 12, 13, ami 14. Epistle of Paul 
to Titus, ii^9, 10. 1 Tiniotby, vi., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Goios- 
sians, iii.,22j23, 84. Ephesians, vi., 5, 6, 7, 8. St. Mat- 
thew, xviii., 23, 54,25, 26. 



the 1st chapter of Genesis, which, he says, was a 
gift to' all mankind equally- Upon the laws of 
nature and religion, he says, ifie law of nations 
is erected: and according to Ju.^tinian. the an- 
cient civilians held that slavery niis'lH arise, jiirt 
gentium — 1st, from captivity in v;ar, whence slaves 
were called mancipia, quad manu ccipti — the con- 
queror, say they, had a right to lake the life of a 
captive, and, having spared that, had a right to 
deal with him as he pleased; 2d, jure ciriii, as 
when a man sells himself; 3d, jure nascentur — the 
children of acquired slaves are, jure natvrce, by a 
negative kind of birthright, slaves also; the civil 
law agreeing in all three of th.sse particulars with 
the Bible; and in the British nuiion, where slavery 
has long been abolished, in the winter of 1817, 
Mr. Justice Scott, the brightest ornament of the 
English bench, in delivering the judgment of the 
court in the case of the Le Louis, a French vessel 
taken by a British cruiser for being engaged in the 
slave trade, said — 

<= Tlint p(;r?onal slavery arising out of" forciblf. captivity, 
is coeval witli the earliest periods of the history of man- 
kind; that it is found existing (and, as far as appuars, with- 
out anim:idv<;r5)on] in the earliest and most auilientic 
records of the human race ; that it is recognized by the codes 
of the H'ost polished nations of anlirjuiry; that under the 
liifht i.i--cnrtsiinnTt.y itself, the possis-;ion of persons so ac- 
quired lias been in every civilized country invested with the 
character of [jropTty, and secured as such by all the pro- 
tections of law; that solemn treaties have been framed and 
national monopolies eagerly sought, to far iliiate and extend 
thf; couuneree in this asserted property ; and all this, with 
all the sanctions of law, public and municipal, and without, 
any o|ipo5ition, except the protests of a few private moral- 
ists, little heard, and less attended to, in every country, till 
within tiiese very few years, in this particular country.' 

'• If the matter rested here, I fear it would have been 
deemed a most extravagant assumption in any court of the 
law of nations to pronounce that this practice, the toler.aled, 
the approved, the encouraged object of law, ever since man 
became suljjeet to law, was prohibited by that law, and was 
legally criminal. But the matter does not rest here. Within 
these few years a considerable change of opinion has taken 
place, particularly in this country. Formal declaration? 
have been made and laws enacted in reprobation of this 
practice, .and pains, ably and zealously conducted, have been 
tdkcn to induce other countries to follow the example; 
l>ut at present with insufficient effect; for there are nations 
which adhere to ihc practice under all the encouragement 
which their own laws can give it. What istlie doctrine of 
our couris of ilie law of nations relatively to them.'' Why. 
that their practice is to be respected ; that their slaves, if 
taken, an; to be restored to them ; and if not taken under in- 
nocent mistake, to be restored with costs and damages. 
All this, surely, upon the ground that such conduct on the 
part of any Slate, is no departure from the law of nations: 
becau-e, if it were, no surli respei't could be allowed toil, 
upon an exemption of its own making; for no nation can 
privilege itself to commit a ciime against the law of nation* 
by a mere municipal regulation of its own. And if our un- 
derstanding and administration of the law of nations be, 
that every nation, independently of ueaties, retains a legal 
right to carry on this traffic, and that the trade carried on 
under that authority is to be respected by all tribunals, for- 
eign as well as domestic, it is not easy to find any consistent 
grounds on which to maintain that ihe traffic, according to 
our views of that law, is criminal." fice Dodfon's Admi- 
ralty Reports, vol. 2, pages 250, 251. 

The leading principles in this case were recog- 
nized and confirmed in 1820, by the Court of 
King's Bench, in the case of Madrazo vs. Willis. 
Similar views of the law of nations were taken by 
Chief Justice Marshall, in the Supreme Court of 
the United States, in the case of the Spanish and 
Portuguese vessels captured by American cruisers. 
It was not contrary to the law of nature, or else 
the God of nature could not have permitted its 
sanction in that code which he gave to his chosen 
people. It was not incoinpatible with the prac- 
tice of pure and undefiled religion, because it Wis, 



at least, permitted by Flim, who is the great and persons, and make a part of our families; and 
3ole object of the highest religious horaajce. •Thus !| when you say that slaves shall not go into the ter- 
we see, sir, that by the law of nature, the law of !; ritories, you exclude a portion of our families, or 
God, and the law of nations, slavery was tolerated ,\ you de-troy the domestic relation between master 
and justifi-ed; aad the broad doctrine is laid down [i and slave; and no sensible man, North or South, 
by Blackstone, that the law of nature recognized i East or West, will hesitate one moment to say, 
the right to property in all mankind equally, and !| that you indirectly, but effectually, prohibit us 
the first title to individual property he founds on from settling in these territories, 
occupancy, and traces the continuance of that right 1; You tell us that slavery is a great evil. Why 
to civil or municipal regulations; and if we ex- ,i so, sir? Was it an evil to the slave to be brought 
amine the Bible, v/hich, he says, is higher evi- from the barbarous cruelty of infanticide and can- 
dence of the law of nature than the opinions of nibalism in his native wild.", to the mild treatment 
ethical writers, we shall find that individual or | and personal security of a Christian land ?— from 
private property in slaves as well as other things ;' heathen worship to Christianity.' Is he injured 



is recognized therein. Property in slave 
cognized by the Constitution and laws of the 
United' States. As persons, they constitute an 
element in representation; as property, they are 
liable to taxation. They have been subjected to 



by being better fed, better clothed, and less worked, 
than the laboring classes of other lands ? 

There are no mobs, and no paupers among 
them, and less crime than is believed to exist among 
the lal)oring poor of any other country. They 



it whenever you have resorted to direct taxes, and ! have less care on their minds, and are more con- 
often sold by the Government officers in making l'. tented than any other people. They give them- 
their collections. You yearly repeat this selling !; selves no thought for the morrow, knowing that 
of slaves under executions founded upon judg- jj their master will provide for their wants; indeed, 
nients against defaulting officers. By your navi- jj the master is prompted to do so, not only from 



gation laws you also recognize property in slaves. 
You provide for their transportation coastwise from 
the port of any State to any port or place wlLliln 
the limits of the United States. 

Here, sir, you protect our right to slaves where 
they are carried by their owners beyond the limits 
of the slave States, and the Constitution requires 
you to deliver them up when they escape into 
such States as have abolished slavery; thus show 



motives of humanity, but from self-interest. If 
the owner neglect to provide him with proper sus- 

tcnar.oc, or iiiipcuo txce^sive la'oor upim l<iiu, lie 

thereby becomes enfeebled. If he fail to clothe 
him comfortably, exposure brings on disease, which 
causes loss of time and the expense of medical 
attendance. The slave when a ck is sure, from 
the same motives, to have the attentions of his 
owner or overseer, and when he becorries old is 




the moment he touches the joint territory of all It is objected that he cannot go where he pleases: 
these States ' it is your duty to make laws to i and who can } The slave is restrained by nis ob- 
protect the citizen in the enjoyment of all his !; ligation to his master; and necessity of some sort 
Tights in these territories; but'does that give vou : —generally the want of money--restrains other 
th°e power to abolish the right to propertV ? Cer- li men. And let it be borne in mmd, that, in the case 
tainly not. The Constitution prohibits your i] of the negro, the hardship is not m the loss ot frec- 
touchin'' private property under any circumstan- j| dom, as u would be with the white man, tor he 
ces, unkss for public use, and then only upon | has always been a slave, both in this country and 
comnensation,— showing clearly that the framers | in the country whence he canie. 
of the Constitution never intended you should II It is said that families and fiicnds are often for- 




rnajoniy. 

articles should be forfeited the mome 

in our territories, either to the pul: 



nt they landed point offact, as the gentleman from Worth Carolina 

>!ic generally, [Mr. Clingman] showed, upon a comparison ot 

■ ? 1 _:* 1 |! -.r- ._:.•- ...:.u ■NT„„. v-^vi- T.Pt iiR t»ke Massa- 




interfere with your constituliona! rights; you can ji 380,282; and m 184 
go into these territories where you pl'ease, and ' $202,272,650. Mass 



^ u^.,. ...^..achusetts in r840, h.vi a popu- 
f 737, 699, and her properly in 1848 was only 



• ucky had a free populntion of 597,570, and in ; 
1848 her property was assessed at $272,847,696. 
Ohio in 1840, had a population of 1,519,457, and 
her properly was assessed in 1848 at §42 1 ,067,991. 
The averacjs property in Kentucky is 5?456, and 
in Ohio only ijj211— niore than fifty per cent. less 
than in Kentucky, and as the population of Ohio 
is still greater in proportion than that of Kentucky, , 
her average property would be less at this time. ; 
In 1&40, there were built in Ohio, 970 hou.-ses of 
brick, and 2,764 of wood; in Kentucky, 485 of 
brick, and 1,757 of wood. Thus it will be seen 
•hat, considering the relative amount of population 
.iif these States, the advantage is decidedly in favor 
it' the South, and which is still more strikingly ; 
shown by a reference to the relative consumption 
of meats and breadstuffa. 

It is believed that if tlie foreign population, with 
rts natural increase, be deducted, the increase of 
the southern white population will be found to be 
the greatest. There were four hundred and seventy 
persons in the penitentiaries of Ohio in 1840, and 
one hundred and thirty in those of Kentucky 
during the same year — Ohio having twenty-five 
ner cent, more than Kentucky, according to popu- 
-Rtion^ and ojie-.'^ixth of all in the Kentucky peni- 
'entian'es were born in free States. 

The non-slaveholding States are very much 
.roubled with paupers, while, in the slaveholding 
States, pauperism is almost unknown. Pauperism 
-ind crime are not exotics at the North and West, 
while we are almost free from both. In 1840, 
■here was more Ciime in the city of New York, 
*han in all the fifteen southern States. 

The greater wealth and prosperity of the South 
IS not denied by the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. 
Campbell;] but he endeavors to avoid the con- 
elusion that we are more comfortable and happy. 
He says, " in the Northwest, we believe that the 
'cultivation of the intellect — the advancement of 
* public morals — are the true sources of public 
■ happine.^3. Hence we build churches and school- 
' houses," &c. — and makes' a great display of 
Ohio's colleges, academies, grammar and primary 
schools, and brings up my State in his comparison. 
It is true, sir, the census shows we have a little 
more than our proportion of those who can neither 
read nor write, compared with Ohio. This is 
easily accounted for when you reflect that Ala- 
bama is a nev,- State — that her population came 
from other S'.nips, and that among the pioneers of 
all new countries, there is a goodly number of un- 
learned adventurers, but who are generally shrewd 
and energetic men. It is equally true that Ohio 
has a few more than her proportion of colleges, if 
the returns can be relied on; and this is to be ac- 
iountej for from the fac-, tiiat our State is filled 
with citizens from other States., bringing with them 
their paitialities for the States, from which they 
came, which induces them to send their children 
back to be educated, or, at least, to finish their edu- 
cation. Hence, you find Alabama boys at the 
.colleges of almost all of the older States. But 
does this prove that education is less attended to in 
Alabama than in Ohio,' We find, bj' reference to 
the same census, that Alabama had one hundred 
and fourteen, and Ohio seventy-three academies 
and grammar schools. Alabama had at these 
academies and grammar schools, five thousand and 
aighteen stadents; while Ohio, with nearly five 



times her population, had only four thousand three 
hundred and ten. 

Where now stands the gentleman's boasted 
superiority over my State in intelligence, based on 
his educational statistics.' The gentleman very 
ingeniously adds the primary schools to the others, 
and then, upon the aggregate, boasts of superior 
intelligence. I suppose the gentleman had read 
that Solomon said " much wisdom is much grief," 
and he therefore selected a very moderate scale — 
the A B C class— for his boasted superiority. But 
even here, I doubt the gentleman's right to boast 
over my State, when it is borne in mind that men 
, of wealth frequently employ private teachers in 
their families, in order to educate their children at 
home, and that these private .schools are not 
: enumerated in the census. 

But, sir, the gentleman's speech contradicted 
itself on this subject, for just before he asserted our 
inferiority, he had charged that the South, who 
are in the minority, had aggressed on the North, 
by filling all the offices of this Government, or 
nearly so, from its organization to the present 
time. 

My colleague [Mr. Bowdon] called his attention 
' to his other branch of public happiness: and liow 
did he answer — by reference to the statistics ? No, 
sir! they did not suit his purpose. But the gen« 
tleman drew on a fertile imagination, by supposing 
. that we did not punish crime, or, at least, to the 
; extent they did, thereby yielding the moral branch, 
and much the most important one to society , to the 
slaveholding States. 
I Again, sir; the Mormons resided in Ohio for a 
long time, and some of them still do, and by their 
i community of goods and plurality of wives, occa- 
sioned great disturbance and frequent mobs. In- 
deed, I understand that they have not only male 
mobs in the Northwest, hut I saw in one of the 
public papers, a short time since, that they had a 
large female mob there. I could not believe it until 
a highly respectable western gentleman assured roe 
that it was true, and that they had had several 
within the last eighteen months. 

Woman in the South is looked upon as Heaven's 
, last, best gift to man, and we are unwilling that 
i even the winds of lieaven should visit her too 
roughly: but in the highly inoral Northwest, we 
, find her in mobs, with missiles in hand, assailing 
i the other sex. Is this the gentleman's boasted 
I morality ? May God ever, as heretofore, keep us 
strangers to this sort of morality ! 
I The gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Campbell,] 
I .says, "our fair countrywomen, yielding to the ten- 
1 • der sympathies which always adorn their sex, 
i ' when inquired of by a disconsolate passer-by of 
} ' her own sex, who, perhaps, may carry in her 
i ' arms an infant slightly tinged, may point out the 
; ' nearest and best road to Canada. Is there any- 
1 ' thing wrong in this.' Point it out." And the 
! gentleman seems to think that this course is mor- 
ally and religiously right, for he sanctions it. 
I We find in the 16th chapter of Genesis, 6th, 7th, 
Sth, and 9th verses, that '• when Sarai dealt hardly 
i with" Hagar, her maid, " she fled; and the Angel 
of the Lord met her and said: ' Higar, Sarai 's 
maid, whence camest thou .' and whither wilt thou 
go .'' And she said, I flee from the face of my mis- 
tress, Sarai. And the Angel of the Lord said unto 
;i her, return unto thy mistress, and submit thyself 
under her hands." Here is a case similar to the 



6 



one stated by the gentleman; yet how different the i 
command of the Angel of the Lord from the advice \ 
of the gentleman from Ohio ! | 

] have heard it said that slavery gave too much 
political power to the sUiveholdiiig States. This < 
IS an objection to the Constitution^ Your fathers i 
thought that there was good reason for adopting ' 
this provision, because it was believed that the ; 
slaves would keep out nearly an equal number of 
the white population, and if not allowed represent- ; 
ation, the South would be shorn of much politi- i 
cal power. It was therefore agreed that three-fifths ij 
should be represented and taxed. Experience has j| 
proved that in consequence of slavery in the South, |i 
almost all of the foreign immigration has settled |! 
in the North and We.st, and swelled your voting |' 
population toagreateramount than the three-fifths !i 
rule gives the South, which shows that the North 
and West are not injured in a political point of ij 
view. The labor of the slave is not brought in ! 
competition with the free labor of the poor in the Ij 
North and West, and why.' Because you do not j: 
raise cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, and turpentine, 'j 
which are the products of slave labor. The more 
slave labor is increased, the more of these articles 
are raised, and consequently you buy them cheap- 
er, and that cheapnesa enables yon to mtike the 
greater profit. Your prosperity enables you to en- 
large your business and employ more laborers, 
thereby lessening the number employed in other 
occHpations. Take, for instance, agriculture, and 
in the proportion that you withdraw laborers from 
its pursuit, you lessen the amount of its products, 
and thereby give the agriculturist a better mar- 
ket; and just so with other occupations. Abolish 
slavery at the South, and the exportation of cotton 
ceases; the heat of our climate, with the insalubrity 
of our atmosphere on the lowlands, will ever keep 
the white man from cultivating them in cotton, 
and if the negro were free, he would not. Look 
at Hayti, where the free negro has relapsed into 
pristine barbarism, and the exports which were 
$25,000,000 in 1789, have dwindled down to less 
than one-twentieth of that amount. * In Jamaica, 



* MeCuIloch's Universal Gazetteor, title Hayti: "One of 
the first effects of the revolution which aliolished the slavery 
of the blacks, was an enormous decrease in the amount of 
agricultural produce. From 1794, the year in wliich tlio 
slaves were declared free by the National Convention of 
France, to 1796, the value of the exported produce had sunk 
to 8,605,700 livres, bein;; only about five pc' cent, of what it 
had been in 1789; and seven years afterward the country 
hail become almost a dcseit, not only from the waite of civil 
war, but also from the indolence (if the black population. 
The famous Tbussatnt L'Owerture adopted coercive meas- 
ures to restore agriculture ; and it is, we believe, idle to 
suppose that any other will ever be effectual in such a coun- 
try to impel the negro to labor." 

".Morenu St. Mery, quoted by McCulloch, says the land 
is never manured, and scarcely ever weeded; and only a 
part of each year's produce is converted into molasses. 
This arises principally from idleness, to which may be added 
the depredations of cattle, owing to bad fences and the 
almost total impossibility of repairing sugar works, from a 
want of workmen and the bad faith of all parties con- 
cerned." 

'•The very little field-labor effected is generally per- 
formed by elderly people, principally by old Guinea negroes. 
No me.isures of the government can induce the young 
Creoles to labor, or depart from their habitual licentiousness 
and vagrancy. The few young females that live on the 
plantations seldom assist in any labor whatever, but live in 
a constant state of idleness and debauchery." 

McUulloch : " Morals are universally disregarded. The 
private habits of the people are characterized chiefly by 
filth and laziness; marriage is scarcely thought of, and the 
ties consequent on it Iwve not the shadow of an existence." 



where the experiment of freeing the negro has beer^ 
tried, it has failed. In the first ten year.v herexports 
have fallen off one-halt'; the negroes refu.?e to worh 
even for high wages, beyond mere necessaries; 
the planters are said to be bankrupt, the planta- 
tions abandoned and the island hastening to ruin. 
All experience has proved that the emancipatior 
of the negro causes his labor to he lost to the 
world: do so at the South, and you destroy the 
culture of cotton,— do that, and your factoriei- 
must fail, your commerce must languish; com- 
mercial (iistress will sei.?.e on your cities, and with 
rapid strides advance into the countrv: and let nc 
northern or western man, whatever may be hi.' 
occupation, or hov/ever humble he may be, sup- 
pose, for one moment, that he can escape this uni- 
versal distress. If you destroy the culture of cot- 
ton, you injure every man, woman, and child, who 
wears clothing made of this indispensable produce. 
If you greatly reduce the quantity raised, you still 
injure them in the degree by causing such good? 
to command a much higher price. 

Again, sir; abolish slave labor, and you destroy 
the largest and best market you ever had. Your 
northern manuftictures of every kind must find t 
market in distant lands; the hogs, horses, mule.s. 
&c , of the yVe.-ij, will likewi.^c have to seek othej 
purchasers, and the South will com pete with you by 
becoming stock-raisers, mechanics, artisans, and 
merchants. Will you, in blindness to reason and 
your best interests, strike this blow.' It may be 
said I am stating an extreme case; that you do not 
propose to interfere with slavery in the State.?. 
Others tell us they do; and when I find you march- 
ing in solid column with these men to restrict 
slavery where it is, I must be pardoned for cla.?s- 
ing you all together — especially when I see your 
plans are the best chosen to effect the object avowed 
by others. Why will you restrict slavery r You 
must know that extending it does not add one U 
the number of slaves. 1 have been told that if we 
enlarge the area of slavery, we increa.se the com- 
forts and good living of the slave, and they conse- 
quently multiply more rapidly; and in this way 
slavery would be increased, and to this increase 
you are opposed. And if this be true, you are, otj 
your own showing, in favor of the reverse of thi* 
proposition, which is — by bad living and starva- 
tion to prevent the increase; which idea is fully 
illustrated by a member from Pennsylvania, [Mr. 
Stevens,] who said, "confine it, (slavery,) and 
like the cancer that is tending to the heart, i? 
must be eradicated, or it will eat out the vitals.*' 
Yes, sir; gentlemen have spoken out — it is not fof 
the good of the slave; it is not for the good of th«* 
owner; it is not for the good of the country; but 
it is for political power that you are struggling. I 
have been told that the South could unite on any 
great question — not so with the North and West — 
and it was necessary to keep up this, the only- 
question which could bring all your forces together 
in the field. Thug, sir, fanaticism and political 
ambition combined, have brought this Governmen-i 
to the precipice, and are still urging it on, when, 
before you can be made to see and feel the danger,, 
all may be ingulfed in one common ruin. 

I this day tell the South, that if she supposes she 
hasnoneto contend with but the Abolitionists prop- 
er, she is greatly miatfiken; yes, I tell her not to 
slumber under the impression that she has nothirtf 
to fear from a handful of Abolitionists, i say tc 



i-ier, "Awake! or the Philistines will be upon ,| 

vou '." ... .'t 

' Gentlemen seem to think that we are afraid of / 
i>ur slaves, and look to the North and West for ^ 
aid to keep them in sabjeclion. A more ridicii- i 
i.ous idea never entered the head of man; and it 
seems to be thought that a proclamation of free- , 
lorn would brin^ them all to your aid against us. ; 
So thought Cains Marius, in his sixtii consulate of 
Rome. When Sylla was advancing upon the city, i 
Marius oroclaimed freedom to all the slaves who ^ 
M«,'0uld join him; and history — the chronicler of the ', 
past and apocalypse of the future — informs us that ^ 
':ie obtained the enormous number of three! Such |i 
A'ould be your disappointment, when you came to , 
-.ry it. Why, sir, does not the history of the two 
vars with Great Britain prove this idea to be a ' 
^njere fallacy ? If, in the days of Rome, where 
jiavery existed in its worst form — extending even ^ 
mto life and death— they would not fight for free- ; 
iom, how can you expect them to do so under the ]: 
mild treatment of our Christian land ? You seem : 
• o think that the poor white man of our country 
'^ould stir up the ne^rro to resistance, and head 
him in his wild attempts at robbery and bloodshed. 
Why, sir, let me tell you, that the poor white man, . 

iiitiiough not interested in the vnlns of till* fro i 

perty, and would go with you to abolish it, if it ; 
were practicable and desirable, has too mucli good i 
sesise, and is too good a judge of negro character, 
to aid you in such mad schemes; and why ? Be- i 
■:ause he knows that if the negro were freed and ! 
continued in the country, it would be giving up all ; 
he had to thefts and robberies; and although his 
nselings are not enlisted in favor of this kind of 
property, yet you would find him disputing every 
ench of ground with you — not in defence of negro 
property, bui of his home and little ones. i 

The poor man will never consent to be dcgra- \ 
•led to either social or political equality with the \ 
iraancipated slave; for he is as proud as you or 1; 
and well knows that while his wantof means would ; 
;ix him to the soil, the rich man could go where 
kxe pleased. How, then, are our negroes to be in- 
cited to insurrection? Will you send emisMaries 
among us? It will take an army to guard them. 
3ut, sir, suppose I am mistaken in all this, and 
.-ebeliion should show it.sclf — these people are un- : 
irmed; and, what is more, unaccustomed to the | 
ise of arms; and if it were necessary to put them ; 
Jown, we might be constrained to apply to them i 
.w<i same remedy used by New York, in the negro | 
vneurrection of that State in 1741 and 1742. ' 

Why, sir> what, have you done? By means 
ff the press, the pulpit, the schools, and public 
meetings, these factionists have gone on in your 
Widst, until they have poisonod the minds of your 
}rt.ople p^ain.si ns. The press teems with libels 
4<giii.nst the South, the tendency of which is to put 
hatred into the hearts of those who should be 
Wi-ethren. A friend informs me that an infamous 
'>ctaTo volume has been publirthod, and is in cir- 
culation at the North, containing a record of all 
'be critrtes, offences, and immoralities perpetrated 
*t the So'uh for the last forty years, and is pre- 
sented as a true picture of sou'iiern character and 
dC'Ciety, while you surpass us both in the enor- 
Jnity and number of these offences, something like 
a hundred to one. What should we say to a sim- 
■iar collection of such crimes of the North and 
Weef,, as a true representation of northern and 



western character and society? Some of your 
people have sent publications among us, v/e!l cal- 
culated, and no doubt intended, to inflame the 
minds of the negro population to insurrection, 
and all the horrors that would follow in the de- 
struction of that inferior race. Your children, I 
understand, have their terider feelings stirred up 
against us by exaggerated narrations and pictorial 
caricatures of the southern master and slave, ex- 
hibitins the brutal cruelty of the one and the help- 
less suffering of the other: thus, sir, you instill 
hatred into their young minds, to grow with 
their grovnh and strengdien with their strength, 
not knowing the bitter' fruits they may gather in 
future times. Yes, sir; this thing has gone on 
unchecked in your midst, until lUo. northern por- 
tion of those professing Christianity have refused 
to worship at the same altar with the southern 
slaveholder; and the northern ptofessors, by tram- 
pling upon the rights of their southern brethren, 
have already divided one of the largest religious 
denominations in our land, and are now shaking 
all the others so violently that they can hold to- 
gether but little longer; thus cutting asunder all 
the religious ties that bind them together as one 
brotherhood and one people. 

Xm I wrong in saying iha'^ ptiblie meetings are 
used against us, when your people, at such meet- 
ings, resolve '* that this Government is a miscalled 
republic, a hypocrite and a liar; and warn the 
world against it as the deadliest enemy of human 
freedom ?" — [Boston free soil resolutions in 1848] — 
and why? Because your Constitution recognizes 
slavery." The Constitution requires you to give 
up our fugitive slaves: how have you performed 
that duty? By forbidding your people by legisla- 
tion to aid the owner in recovering his slave; by 
mobs to prevent him from getting his slave or to 
rescue him after he is taken. This is not all, sir. 
I am told it is now unsafe to follow a slave into 
your country — that a citizen of Maryland (J. 
Lytle) is confined in jail, in a neighboring State, 
under a charge of kidnapping, for endeavoring to 
get back a runaway slave; and, sir, it was but a 
short time since, that another citizen of Maryland, 
(Mr. Kennedy,) vi^ho sought to regain hisslavcby 
the aid of the law, was himself killed by a rnop 
while going from the court-house, and the slave 
rescued. Not content with all this, sir, some of 
your people arc sending agents (Mr. Barrett, in 
South Carolina) into our country with inflamma- 
tory documents to stir up the slave population to 
insurrection: yes, sir, they desire the slave to go 
forth in the darkness and silence of night, to fire 
our dwellings, and give our wives and children 
a prey to the flames, or massacre them in their 
flight. Is not this the internal fire of the earth- 
cpiake which shakes this Union to its centre? 

But we are told that abolition is weak, insignificant, 
conteiTiptible, and ought to be despised; that it is 
the harmless ravings of a few fanatics. Is this so? 
No, sir. It is true that in its infancy it aspired no 
higher than to use the humble voice of " moral 
suasion." But it no sooner grew into consequence 
than it developed a mighty ambition, like the 
growth of rumcr in the splendid imagery of 
Virgil — ingredilurque soluin — it fir.it creeps along 
the ground; but by degrees swelling into mighty 
and undefinable proportions — Caput inter nubilia 
condU — it hides its head nmid the clouds. It no 
longer contented itself with *' moral suasion." It 



8 



1 



grasped at power. It grasped at the sword — what 
13 an appeal to legislation but an appeal to power — 
and what is the emblem of power but the sword, 
its ultimate means of enforcing its behests? It 
went into your State Legislatures and came into 
the Hallo of Congress, demanding legislation, it 
came demanding the restriction of slavery in Mis- 
souri. It came demanding the liberation of the 
slave in the District of Columbia, and as an enter- 
ing wedge, the prohibition of slave migration 
between the slave States. It has been partly 
foiled by the resistance of the South, but it has 
been too successful in excluding slavery from 
four-fifths of the Louisiana territory, which was 
before open to slaveholders. After this is it pos- 
sible for any one to be so much deceived, as to 
^ook upon abolition as a weak and harmle.'^s 
thing? Has it not tainted the whole North and 
West with its fanaticism? Has it not compelled 
the two great political parties of the non-slavchold- 
ing States to bid against each other I'or its power- 
ful support? Is this tlie harmless abolition once 
contented with "mora! suasion?" No, sir — no. 
The gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Ashmuv] 
said: '* And then, sir, as to the territories: I have 

• already traced the history of events which have 

• led the whole North to unite in a firm r«aoive 

• to oppose the extension of slavery into them. 
•That resolve will stand, and be enforced by our 

• votes, whenever votes are necessary to carry it 

• out." And while by your legislation you invite 
immigration from every clime and country into 
these territories, the southern people are the only 
class in the world who are denied the privilege of 
settling therein; and why? Because we ov/n slaves. 
For this reason we are to be degraded from eqaulity 
with you, to the condition of inferiors. Is this not 
true ? Does not the Constitution recognize the right 
to property in slavf s? Will any sen.sible man deny 
this? How can it then be said v/e are equals, 
when you are permitted to go into these territo- 
ries with all your property, of every description, 
while we are forbidden to carry the most valuable 
of ours? We are expected to bear the burdens, 
and fight the battles of the Government, but noi 
to share in the spoils after the victory is won; and 
j*hen you call this equality, think you the South 
will believe you, and calmly submit to tliis gross 
injustice? Even the worm that crawls on the 
ground will turn for resistance when trod upon; 
and do you expect less of us. We can find means 
enough wilhin the pale of the Constitution to apply 
the cup of bitterness to your lips. Then fancy not, 
while you are heaping aggressions and insults 



upon us, that you can escape a just reTribution, 
No, sir, no ! Let the southern people refuse to 
buy your goods, or freight your vessels — let, them 
refuse to buy western produce, and you will soon 
learn that to be great, you must be just and gener- 
ous. The Methodist people protested yeai-s before 
they were forced away from their northern brethren. 
We protested years before we touk up arms 
against the mother country; the first Jiieetlng held 
by our fathers was "to consult together on the pres- 
ent [then] circumstances of the colonieSj and the 
difficulties to which they must be reduced by the 
operation of the acts of Parliament, for levying 
duties and taxes on the colonies, and to ctinsider 
of a general and united, dutiful, loyal, and humble 
representation," &c. Who, sir, would have sup- 
posed, from so mild a beginning, eight years' war 
was springing into existence? Yet so it happened. 
Few foresaw and warned the British Government 
of its danger. It is true, Colonel Barre, in 1765, 
said: " I this day told you so, that the ^ame si)irit 
which actuated that people at first, would continue 
with them still, but prudence forbids me to explaiB 
myself further." But he washteded not; and shall 
not the same spirit which is now awakened ir. 
the South continue with them, nnlpsa ymi redress 

tUcii- giiovanfps ? Aro there no signs in the political 

horizon indicating danger to the country? Is the 
discontent of fourteen States not worthy your se- 
rious consideration? We have protested against 
your encroachments on our just and coristitutional 
rights for fifteen years, and what do you now be- 
hold ? Our people are resolving upon concert of 
action, which, if not arrested by your timely recog- 
nition of our rights, may lead to consequences you 
little dream of. 

Will you follow this ignis fatuus into worse 
than Sarbonian bogs, where all may be swallowed 
up? And what benefit will it he to you or the world, 
when you have ruined your country ? I, sir, and 
the people I represent, are devotedly attached to 
ihe constitutional government our fathers gave us; 
we demand no amendments, we only ask that it 
shall be administered in the liberal spirit in which 
it was framed. With it we are willing to live, and 
under its flag, if need be, to die; but we insist you 
shall be bound by the solemn obligations of the 
Constitution, and that you shall nor, by an irre- 
sponsible majority, trample it under foot, by 
creating an inequality between us. We can 
never consent to be your inferiors — bptter, far 
better, to-morrow's sun should never lif-.e f« ine 
South, than it should light her to infamy and dis- 
grace. 



Pdnbd at Use C'J'igH ssioiial Globe Oif.ce. 



<?< 



LED 19 



